Some three weeks into the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran, the expanding conflict’s impact on energy prices and shipping in the region has become impossible to ignore. 

While much of the immediate concern, insofar as it pertains to trade, has centered on the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, a resulting rise in transportation and energy costs could echo across industries, including that for pharmaceuticals. 

And with the war embroiling Iran’s neighbors, generic exports, drugs for clinical trials and local shipments of biologics that rely on cold chains in the region are likely to face increasing pressure if the conflict persists, multiple experts and news outlets have cautioned in recent days. 

“As disruptions escalate around the Strait of Hormuz, the most affected shipments are often medicines for clinical trial distribution,” Alex Guillen, global SME for pharma and life sciences at Boston-based supply chain visibility firm Tive, said in an emailed statement to Fierce Pharma, cautioning that there “will be an impact on commercial distribution as well.” 

With regards to marketed drugs, "ultra-cold chain shipments carrying biologics are the most vulnerable to disruption,” Guillen added. ...[FiercePharma]